


The Happiness You Bring

by ItCameFromOuterAce



Series: Sharp of Tooth [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anxiety, Blood Drinking, Character Turned Into Vampire, Human Sacrifice, Light Angst, M/M, OT5, vampire spouses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-04-24 10:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19171723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItCameFromOuterAce/pseuds/ItCameFromOuterAce
Summary: The Archvampire Ardyn receives a sacrifice.





	1. A Clone's Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Continuing from [**this**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18903748/chapters/45053194)
> 
> For the prompt:Ardyn/Chocobros: AU, ritual sacrifice turned husband
> 
> Inspired from the Ardyn/Noct ritual sex sacrifice from the last round.
> 
> Accursed/Vampire lord/whatever Ardyn has been ruling for 2000 years and demands sacrifices for reasons. Every couple hundred years Ardyn gets a sacrifice he really, really likes and shares a bit of his power with them so they can live together as husbands/lovers for eternity.
> 
> Cue one of the Chocobros being sacrificed to Ardyn. Instead Ardyn wants to seduce and add him to his collection of husbands, who happen to be the remaining three Chocobros.
> 
> \+ The newest sacrifice can be anyone  
> \+ Go wild with the pairings! It doesn't have to just be Ardyn/sacrifice, maybe Ardyn's husbands have their own reasons for seducing the sacrifice.  
> +++ The Chocobros are NOT slaves/captives. Ardyn encourages them to explore and have their own hobbies. They truly love each other.
> 
> DNW: Noncon. Dubcon is okay, because a sacrifice isn't going to have a lot of say in this situation but Ardyn isn't going to force them.

05953234 felt a grim satisfaction as the handlers finally resorted to gagging him. When his hands were free he punched, when his legs were free he kicked, and when he could do neither he screamed and tried to bite. If they were going to kill him he was going to make it _suck_. What were they going to do, feed him to monsters twice?

He’d done nothing to deserve it; none of them had. He was just grabbed at random from the biggest cohort, like the year before and the year before that for as long as he knew. He’d been a good soldier until that moment, and when he’d protested and tried to run they said they were making an example of him. Well fuck them, and fuck the vampires.

The transport rumbled to a stop when they got to the stretch of road that could only be passed on foot. 05953234 waited for one of the handlers to get close to his feet and bucked his whole body, smiling around the gag as his bound feet connected with the man’s temple.

“ **Motherless piece of** …” The handler roared as he grabbed 05953234 by the feet and yanked him out of the transport. 05953234’s head struck the frame of the vehicle on his way to the ground and he saw stars. When he’d gathered his wits one of the other handlers was restraining the one he’d nailed.

“Dammit, get ahold of yourself Fryr! We need to hand him off _alive_.” The two men caught their breath and the third handler came around and grabbed 05953234, lifting him by the restraints on his legs. The other two lifted his arms. The restraints dug in cruelly and 05953234 twisted to get away without luck. He kept it up the whole walk to the castle, trying to curse them through the gag.

When they threw him through the door the handler spat after him. 05953234 cried out and struggled to move in this bonds. He had just managed to work the gag out of his mouth and let it hang around his neck. If he could just find something sharp…

The door shut with a clang followed by a thud. The room was shockingly dark after the light of the sun. Gradually 05953234 adjusted and became aware of dim candles in the corner, or had they slowly lit themselves? It didn't matter, he had to get loose and escape. From the little 05953234 knew about vampires, he should have a few hours before they came for him at night fall. He turned on his belly and was trying to inch toward some promising looking debris by the outer door when the other one opened from inside the keep.

05953234 rolled onto his back, hoping for the opportunity to pull the same trick he had on the handlers. He didn't think he could overpower a vampire, but he was determined to try. He was brought up short when he realized the intruder wasn't a blood-spattered fiend. 

The man framed by the door was tall and broad shouldered, with long hair, and his clothes were a riot of mismatched textures. Cast-offs? Perhaps the monsters needed human servants.

"Hey!" 05953234 hissed as loudly as he dared. "Help me, please!" The man looked stunned at the request. The other clones had apparently not objected to being drained. Hopefully the servant was sympathetic. "Please, can you get these off me?" The man knelt silently and lifted 05953234 onto his side to examine the restraints. The man sat back on his heels, 05953234 craned his neck to watch the servant.

"Those locks look serious, and the cord has metal. Have you the key?" 05953234 let his head fall to the floor, wincing as his bruises protested. He shook his head and fought tears.

"Can you get a bolt cutter or something? Please, I need to get out of here, I don't want to die!" A sad smile cut across the man’s face.

"Do you not want to die, or do you want to live? I'm afraid the former is unavoidable. What's your name, lad?"

05953234 didn't have time for riddles and the handlers had taken pains to prevent the clones from being exposed to philosophy. Still this strange man might be his only shot. "Oh-five ninety-five thirty-two thirty-four. Pleased to meet you."

The man wrinkled his nose. "There must surely be something quicker to call you." 05953234 shrugged with his limited motion. His batch-mates and primary handlers used to call him Five Thirty-four, but there were lots of thirty-fours in the larger drill group and nicknames were harshly discouraged. The man sighed, "Well, if we have the opportunity we can work on it later. For now my other question, do you want to live?"

"Of course, that's why I need to get out of here! Please, I'm begging you, help me escape before the vampires get here."

The man looked taken aback and laughed far longer than 05953234 thought was polite. Then he lifted 05953234, snapped the lock off with his bare hands, and set his teeth into 05953234's throat. 05953234 didn't think much anything after that.


	2. Hamlet's Overated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To sleep, perchance to dream.

"Prompto?" 

It was cold; colder than anything 05953234 had ever experienced. Colder than the refrigeration unit where the clones were tested. Colder than running drills when the rain was freezing on his rifle. Colder than the commander's eyes when 05953234 had asked why he was being sacrificed.

"Hey, if you don't like the name you need to wake up and tell us."

05953234 wanted to go find the voice, but it was too cold to move. There was pressure around his fingers, but that was cold too; like bands of ice. 

"He's ready to come back." A different voice, familiar. "Move, beloved."

"Couldn’t I-"

"No."

"Not for quite some time." A third and a fourth voice; one gruff, one elegant. Both sad? It was too cold to understand why. 

The icy pressure on his hand eased and vanished. Then, like a miracle, heat! 05953234 felt like sunlight was slipping past his teeth and down his throat, warming him from the inside. He moved, slowly, sometimes jerking, and eventually had his arms around what must be the source. It wasn't warm, but 05953234 was in no position to care. 

"Easy, Prompto, easy. That's the way. Remember, _only take what you need, not what you want_." 05953234 felt himself start to agree when part of him roared to rebellious life. This was like what they tried to do with all the clones, imprinting and controlling them. It didn't matter if it came with the warmth, he'd be damned before anyone fit their thoughts into his head again. He clamped down on the source of the heat and held on, even as hands dragged on his arms and neck.

He slipped back into the fog of cold, and vaguely heard a distant voice, "I don't know that he likes the name."


	3. Midnight Snack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto hungers for understanding.

05953234 woke slowly. That alone was cause for alarm. Lazy clones were dead clones. A few years back three of his group were sent for study and recyc before the handlers realized one of them had brought in the same virus that was going through her daughter's school. 05953234 tore himself from sleep and found he was tucked into a large bed in a well lit room. Too well lit; his head was pounding like he'd been assigned poison resistance again.

He pushed himself up to find and destroy the lighting when he heard someone grumble. The bed was so wide and soft he hadn't even realized the other man was there. 05953234 squinted in the glare. They were separated by the covers, 05953234 below and the other man above, and the man was fully dressed. 05953234 realized he was nude; not with alarm, but with resignation. Clones were afforded very little privacy. The man was still unconscious, so 05953234 assessed his threat-priority as below that painful light.

He cast about for the light source, it was surprisingly unsteady for the intensity, but that could just be him. 05953234 pushed himself up from the bed and slid out from the covers. He took one unsteady step after another, shaking like a colt, and covered his eyes with his hands. 

"Huh…Prompto?" The stranger on the bed stirred. 05953234 revised his threat-priority, but pressed on. "Hey, you shouldn't be up yet." Footsteps coming around the bed to him. "C'mon, back to bed, Prompto." A hand on his arm. 05953234 tried to whirl and attack, but he mostly manage to collapse into the man's arms. He felt ridiculous and feeble as the man picked him up and turned to deposit him on the bed less than two feet away. 

"Fine, but for the love of the six, kill that light." 05953234 turned his head to hide his eyes against the pillow.

"Huh? Oh, sure thing. I guess your dark-vision's already developed." Footsteps retreated and 05953234 heard the sound of the man blowing. Then blessed darkness. "Is that better, Prompto?"

05953234 lifted his head and blinked experimentally. He could still see fine, but everything looked odd. It was like the room was evenly lit from everywhere; there were no shadows. More importantly, "Are you talking to me? My designation is 05953234."

"Hey, are you actually awake this time?" The man sounded excited. 05953234 considered the man carefully. He was about the same height as 05953234, with thick black hair and soft touches of youth around his eyes and cheeks. 05953234 decided not to notice that the man had pretty eyes.

"Answer my question first. Are you addressing me?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. We were trying to come up with a name for you, Ardyn wanted to call you something faster than 'long string of numbers' and Iggy suggested 'Prompto'." 05953234 bristled, they named him? Like a pet? _Or a person_ , part of him suggested. The man continued. "If you're really awake this time I should get the rest of the family. We haven't had anyone join us in forever, I've been the youngest for too long. Oh, not that it's bad or anything, they love us, after all, but it does get old."

05953234 (Prompto?) tried to parse that. He felt like he hadn't received orders with the rest of his squad and was trying to infer them, but everyone was dancing while standing on their hands. The man implied that there were more people in the equation, but… the vampires! He’d been picked up like a rag doll and felt teeth in his throat as the world had gone dark and distant. He tried to push himself back off the bed, but his arms wouldn't hold him.

"Hey, hey, easy." The man (vampire?) was at his side; not holding him down, but helping him slide up to sit supported by the headboard and pillows. "You're not really ready to be up yet. I remember how much it sucked. You should feed again. I’ll go get Ardyn; just try not to fall out of the bed or turn into too many bats again.” 05953234 couldn’t decide which of them was losing his mind.

The stranger turned and left 05953234 for a moment before returning with… "You _bastard!_ " 05953234 tried to lunge at the vampire who’d bit him. He started to fall off the bed, but there was a blur of motion and the long haired man had 05953234 in his arms. 

"You're rather spicy, aren't you?" The vampire pulled 05953234 against his chest. "You don't seem to respond at all to telepathic impression; you were a good soldier only because you wanted to be good for them, and the fools threw you away." 05953234 didn't know if he was shaking from exhaustion, terror, or rage. "I imagine you'll feel better once you've worked through that nasty crisis of faith you're having." 

He settled on the bed still holding 05953234. The fight went out of Prompto with the rest of his energy. The vampire reached up and tugged at his shirt collar; loosening his layers to expose the planes of his chest. 05953234 stared at the exposed skin inches from his face. The vampire reached between them and, with a fingernail that seemed impossibly sharp, sliced into his own flesh. 05953234’s nostrils flared as the scent of blood filled the room and a sharp, aching hunger slammed through him. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as that slow crimson welling. Following half-comprehended instincts he nuzzled into the vampire holding him and locked his lips around the cut. 

Warm blood flooded his mouth and he swallowed, distantly aware the vampire was still speaking. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to teach you the fast way, but I imagine someone as bright as you will figure it out anyway.” His world narrowed to the slow flow of blood, and Prompto realized he was passing out again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is a wip, I'm a little leary about posting it, but what the hell.


	4. Story time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio tries to share.

Prompto shifted in the name like a pair of shoes that weren’t quite broken in. _Prompto. Prompto._ He wasn’t thrilled that the vampires had dismissed his designation out of hand; especially if they were his new handlers, but he could deal with it. _Prompto._

05953234 studied the journal he'd been given by one of the vampires. He was able to sit up, or be propped up, for extended periods and had been given solid food in addition to the blood, but still couldn't move about on his own. The vampire who’d given him the book was sitting with him, also reading. He was even taller and broader than Ardyn and seemed to answer to multiple designations, although he had instructed 05953234 to use 'Gladio'.

"You still doing alright?" Prompto glanced up into the vampire's golden eyes.

“Yes, Gladio,” he lied. 05953234 had never dealt with forced inactivity like this, even as juveniles the clones only were given bare minimum reading assignments so they could understand instructions. The bulk of their time was spent drilling. Prompto had seen the neonate facility occasionally and wondered if they could feel frustration scraping against their nerves as they floated in their tubes for months. It would explain why the neonate facility had the second highest attrition rate of any site.

“Right,” the large vampire shifted in his chair. “Do you have any questions? What part are you on?”

Prompto really wanted to know what the point of this exercise was and when he’d be able to leave this bed. “I’m reading the entry from the 20th.”

“That’s still before… Hmm, are you having trouble reading it? I guess it’s a little archaic, and I should have asked if you read Lucian.” He rose to his full height and 05953234 forced himself not to react. “Mind if I sit on the bed? I’ll be honest, it’s a little embarrassing for me, but I think it’ll help you if we read together.”

Two of the vampires always asked permission and the other two didn’t. Prompto was still trying to understand their command structure, and clues like that were useful. “You may sit.” The vampire walked around and settled onto the free side of the bed; putting on arm along the headboard behind 05953234 and took the journal with his free hand.

He held it up so Prompto could see the page and began. “Today the selection for the Sacrifice was made. It’s fair. The King makes it fair. Any of the youths in the Court could be chosen, but it was me…” Prompto shifted. “Yeah?” The vampire interrupted himself.

“How did the king make it fair? How many people are in a court? Niflheim has lots of clones so we don’t have to worry about the vampires depleting our numbers.”

“Uh,” the vampire slipped his arm off the headrest and let it settle on Prompto’s shoulders. “So, in Lucis the sacrifice is chosen at random by lottery; and because we’re chosen from the court, the powerful families, Tennebre and Lucis don’t have to tithe as often as Niflheim or Accordo. Iggy has some theory about the symbolic nature of the sacrifice, but I don’t follow it myself.” Prompto tried to keep his shoulders relaxed, but the vampire was too close to miss the tell and moved his arm back up onto the headboard and kept reading. 05953234 barely heard him. How was random choice fair? One of the earliest lessons he’d received in training was that some clones didn’t deserve to live and he had strived all his life to not be in that group.

Prompto forced himself back into the present and listened as the vampire twisted the mix of familiar and strange characters into words. He leaned into the broad chest to get a better view and the vampire brought his free arm back down. 05953234 was starting to get used to the strange cold of the vampires.


	5. Retrofited Appliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto's feeling a little less himself, Ignis steps in to help.

Prompto was deeply grateful for this vampire and his clear, concise instructions; even though they were complete nonsense. He clung to them like a drowning man offered a balloon animal. He’d finally been permitted to move about the keep and as he’d expected the freedom came with restrictions, but... 

”Always ask for company when you go outside, and make sure it’s dark before you open any doors. Stay away from the windows during the day. Check with Gladio before you open any of the books in the library; some of them are religious texts. Oh, and avoid religious symbols for now, though it should be safe when you’re older…” 05953234 listened raptly as the tall vampire in elegant glasses continued to detail his instructions, but there was something important missing from the instructions. “...and if you see someone you haven’t met before; come find one of us. You’re not ready to be around humans. Do you have any questions, Prompto?” 05953234 nearly smiled in relief. He’d been afraid he would, but with that last part his orders were finally clear.

“No, Ignis. I will patrol the interior of the keep and alert you or one of the others without engaging intruders.” Prompto didn’t know why the vampire hadn’t said it that way in the first place, and carefully held his expression. Ignis did not. He blinked, started to frown, fixed his gaze past 05953234’s shoulder for a moment, before looking back at him with a slight smile. Prompto felt dread twist in his belly.

“I… I think you misunderstand.” 05953234 waited for the vampire to continue. The silence stretched, but Prompto wasn’t foolish enough to provoke a handler outside of desperation. The vampire shifted. “I’m… you’re not under orders. I was just laying out some safety guidelines. Typically a fledgling would receive this type of instruction through the bond, but… because of your special circumstances I wanted to make sure these had been verbalized.” He adjusted his glasses and looked earnestly at Prompto.

05953234 carefully kept his gaze just to the vampire’s left and remembered how badly questioning his former handlers had worked out for him. “Acknowledged.”

Ignis still didn’t clarify his orders or dismiss him. Prompto watched odd expressions chase themselves behind the vampire’s glasses. The tall vampire eventually sighed. “Would you like to join me in the kitchen today? I could use the company.” 05953234 had come to understand that the vampires actually drank blood rarely and mostly ate human food.

The kitchens were on the far side of the keep. Prompto felt himself start to get winded halfway there, and Ignis kept slowing down to point out some antique, tapestry, or painting so it took twice as long as it should have. 05953234 kept his frustration leashed; he’d been too careless with his new handlers. Plus, he did like some of the paintings. When they arrived at the kitchen Ignis directed him to sit by a table in the corner of the room. The kitchen was shining and modern in contrast with the rest of the keep. It was almost too large for the equipment it housed, one refrigerator, one freezer, one oven set into what looked like a historic wood-oven with gas lines running along the edges of stone countertops also feeding to a gas range, and there were more devices placed with an air of precision around the counters. Ignis brought over a book almost as thick as his wrist and sat down next to 05953234. “Have your lessons in written Lucian with Gladio been going well?”

Prompto nodded. “Yes, Ignis.” He still didn’t understand the vampires’ obsession with it. He could already read well enough to understand orders; it was just all the extra stuff that had eluded him to begin with. He kept practicing; it was informative and perhaps the vampires would eventually have orders for him pertaining to it.

“I’m glad to hear it. This is my personal recipe book. Could you help me pick out something to prepare for the family tonight?” Prompto took the book gingerly and opened it to the beginning. It was going to take forever to read through it, 05953234 carefully didn’t tighten his grip on the pages. How did this vampire expect him to pick out a single recipe immediately? Thankfully the recipes were titled, but he had no parameters for making the correct choice. Sometimes during training juvenile clones were given tasks that couldn’t be completed to see both how long they endured and how they handled failure and discipline, but he was well past that age. Prompto didn’t quite suppress his accusative glance.

“Ah, here. Let’s start by narrowing down based on main ingredient. Right now I have on hand chicatrice, garrulessa, and some frozen trout that Noct caught a little while ago.” Ignis tentatively moved a little closer and turned the book toward it’s middle. “Do any of those appeal to you tonight?’

Prompto considered it carefully. He had a 33.3% chance at random, and if he picked the wrong one he’d finally know what the vampires intended as his new handlers. “Chicatrice.”

“That does sound nice.” Ignis flipped a few pages. “Here’s something; read through this and let me know what you think.” Prompto bent his head over the page. It… was fairly comprehensible. There were a few unfamiliar terms in the materials list and instructions, but if he was just assisting he should be able to watch the vampire and mimic him.

“Affirmative, ready to proceed.”

He was shocked when Ignis armed him with a blade, but rallied under his instruction to use it to disassemble something called ‘shallots’. Overall, he was pleased when Ignis deemed the results a success. Perhaps he'd found some of use to do after all.


	6. The Fountain has Rococo Elements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ardyn shows off his crib.

Prompto had begun patrolling the interior of the keep for the night when he felt a presence at his back. “Good evening, my dear.” 05953234 braced himself and turned to the vampire’s commanding officer. The long-haired vampire was leaning against the wall by a tapestry that seemed to depict ancient battle-feild techniques. It was hard to tell with the figures stacked on top of each other instead of being layered behind, but Prompto thought the center showed a flanking maneuver. "Would you care to join me for a moonlit stroll?"

"Yes, Ardyn." The vampires had asked Prompto to not call them sir when he first recovered from the attack. He suspected a trap, but it hadn't sprung on him yet. He fell into pace as the vampire turned in a swirl of layers and led him to one of the doors. The moon was still on the fat side of waning as it crawled up from the horizon, light cascading over the valleys surrounding the keep. In the unnatural brightness of his sight Prompto could see the remnants of straight lines in the trees halfway up the next hill. An orchard?

Ardyn’s eyes glinted in the moonlight as he looked to the clear horizon. “Ah, it’s far too beautiful a night for an expository conversation. Let us walk the gardens.” Prompto followed as the vampire turned swept into a low-walled enclosure. Sure enough, there were rows of plants gathering dew in the night. Unlike the outer fields these were still tended. Prompto hadn’t been permitted here before and caught his foot on a loose flagstone. Before his balance had been compromised the vampire was back by his side. “Ah, forgive me, the path has not been properly maintained. There may be other hazards, may I take your arm?”

05953234 was taken aback; that seemed like a real question, not a veiled order. He started to bite his lip in though, but was derailed by his teeth again. With some trepidation Prompto nodded and extended his arm, half expecting to be dragged like he’d been injured in training. Instead Ardyn guided Prompto to hook his hand around Ardyn’s arm and bent at the elbow so Prompto had a place to rest his wrist. The vampire proceeded into the garden at a more sedate pace, leaving Prompto free to try and see everything.

There were plants of all sorts; from mosses huddled between the flagstones to trees reaching for the sky as flowering vines climbed them. Most of the flowers were drooping and closed, but a few still displayed their color and perfume. Prompto had never seen anything like it. The training grounds were packed dirt and closely cropped grass. His group had started to be taken out for field training, the last step before deployment, and he’s seen a few trees and wild shrubs. Here the plants were both sat where humans placed them, but had a liveliness that hadn’t been beaten out of them. He wished there were a way to capture this place at this moment to return to again and again.

He turned to look at the plants on the other side and caught Ardyn smiling at him. The vampire gently pulled at their joined arms and lead Prompto to a fountain that had water cascading over some type of bird. Prompto listened to the water, and Ardyn leaned slightly into him. He looked up at the vampire and Ardyn reached his free hand to cup Prompto’s cheek. “You know, we’re very glad to have you with us here.” 05953234 frowned in puzzlement. They stood in silence for a few seconds before Ardyn released his face.

Finally, Prompto pushed a question out, “Why?” It was the one that had threaded every step since he’d been removed from drills at the facility. He meant why me? Why the sacrifices? Why am I alive when you killed me?

Ardyn sighed, “Because you are fascinating, because you are charming, because even when they tried to stomp the fire of your soul down to embers it still burns.” He lead Prompto away from the fountain and pointed into the clear darkness. “Do you see that owl?” Prompto nodded. “The owl does not require art or music, but she is beautiful and her call is melodious. I could argue that she serves a purpose, even to the mice she preys upon, but ultimately she lives for her own reasons.” Ardyn lead him into the night to see the rest of the gardens. Prompto pulled Ardyn’s arm to walk a little closer and almost understood why he would.


	7. Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis tries to show Prompto the ropes.

Prompto looked up at Noctis and bit his lip in worry. He’d mastered the technique of doing so without drawing blood. The vampires had expressed a desire for his continued presence; which implied his continued survival, but…

“...and instinct will kick in before you hit the ground.” The dark-haired vampire finished explaining with a wave of his hand from where he stood on the rampart wall. 05953234 carefully considered his options. 

"I require a demonstration." There, Prompto thought smugly, now let's see what he does. He carefully held his expression, trying to project ernest obedience.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Good idea." The vampire threw himself backwards into the night and plummeted, to Prompto's shock. Prompto cried out and rushed to the wall, futilely grasping at empty air as Noctis fell out of reach. Time slowed as Prompto’s senses heightened. He could only watch as the vampire descended, smiling up at him. He went from horror to shock as the vampire seemed to blur and broke apart. A swarm of bats flew up; just like he’d said would happen to Prompto.

Prompto pushed back from the wall and grinned. The bats swirled around him and in his delight Prompto made some kind of bark-like sound. The bats coalesced back into Noctis, who stumbled in the direction that the bats had been circling. Prompto caught him by the arms and was pulled into motion himself. They spun together a few turns and slowed to a stop. His cheeks ached slightly.

“If I’d known that would get a laugh out of you, I’d have done it weeks ago!” Noctis reached up to rest his hands on Prompto’s shoulders. He leaned a little closer, then pulled back and looked into Prompto’s eyes. “Um, right. Did you want to see that again or try now? I really think it’ll be easy for you, and you were really cute when you were out of it. We ended up scooping you into a blanket; Gladio and I held up the edges until you turned back.”

Prompto wondered at that. Cute? Handlers who used that term were replaced quickly; he wasn’t sure how he felt. Noctis dropped his gaze slightly as Prompto started speaking. “I-” The sound of a vehicle motor cut him off as it rose into the level of his hearing. He turned toward the road down in the valley and Noctis stiffened. “What’s that?”

Noctis pulled away and caught him by the hand. “Human visitors. Let’s go inside; you’re not ready to be around humans.” 05953234 allowed himself to be drawn into the vampire’s wake and trailed back into the depths of the keep.

Noctis walked through the corridors to a bedroom that had muffled noises coming from it and knocked lightly. After a moment Gladio opened the door. The large vampire leaned into the opening wearing a robe. He glanced curiously at Prompto. “I take it you’re not here to join us?” He rumbled.

Noctis squeezed Prompto’s hand. “Get decent; there’s a carload of humans about an hour out.”

“Ah,” came Ardyn’s voice from the room, “Prompto, you should feed before they arrive. Come here?” Gladio and Noctis both made soft noises as Prompto pushed past them. The archvampire was sprawled nude on the bed. Prompto thought nothing of it as he joined him. A hand cupped the back of his head and guided him to the familiar spot on the vampire’s chest. If he looked carefully, Prompto could make out countless thin pale lines crossing the area; scars upon scars upon scars. Ardyn again shared his blood.

Prompto drowsed while Gladio and Ardyn dressed and Noctis paced. Ignis came to the door and gestured toward the entrance of the keep. The two eldest vampires left and Ignis came and lay next to Prompto. Noctis joined them and murmured, “He laughed tonight, Specs.”

“I’m glad you got to hear it.” Ignis whispered back. Prompto wanted to question them about the visitors, but the peace of feeding and the nearness of the others lulled him into true sleep.


	8. Still more produtive than most meetings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto sits in for a discussion.

Prompto closely watched Ardyn from the corner of his eye and sketched with pencil in the notebook Gladio had given him. He’d presented it with the suggestion that Prompto might write down any questions he had, if he didn’t feel comfortable asking them aloud. Prompto had given up in frustration five minutes into the conversation.

Prompto was seated at the table in Ardyn’s study with all four of the vampires. They seemed to be discussing some kind of deployment, but beyond that Prompto was lost. Ardyn moved, resting his chin on his hand as Ignis spoke. Prompto erased part of his chin and started drawing his hands.

“...we can hardly leave a fledgling vampire on his own, forgive me Prompto, but it would be equally foolish for us all to go.” Prompto jerked his head up at his name, but quickly returned to his drawing. Ardyn shifted to his other hand. Prompto’s eraser squeaked lightly as the paper started to become worn smooth.

Noctis leaned into the table. “So, it just makes sense for me-”

“No way.” Gladio interrupted. Noctis sat up, but he pressed on. “You and Ignis are still too young, maybe, _maybe_ I could, but-”

Noctis pressed his hands onto the table. “You can’t keep treating me like-” 

“Enough.” Ardyn stood to address the room. Prompto huffed and threw his notebook and pencil down. He couldn’t figure out what questions he was supposed to ask, he couldn’t draw, and he couldn’t stand one more second of this. He drew a shaky breath as Ardyn spoke. At this point he was more scared of not knowing what his role was here than of being disciplined.

“Why don’t we take a few minutes and calm down.” Ignis broke in before Prompto had gathered his nerve. Noctis shoved away from the table and walked out of the room, Ardyn on his heels. Ignis slumped in his seat with a sigh.

Gladio turned to Prompto and gestured toward the notebook. “Mind if I see what you got down so far?” Prompto sat at attention and handed the book off. Gladio frowned as he flipped through the first few pages; then his eyes widened. 05953234 braced himself. “Hey Iggy, check this out.” Gladio pushed the notebook across to Ignis open to the sketch of Ardyn. “I didn’t know we had an artist here.”

Ignis accepted the notebook and looked closely at the picture. “A remarkable likeness. Prompto, this is excellent.” Prompto snorted in derision. Gladio looked over, shocked, and he pressed his luck.

“No, it’s not.” Part of 05953234 quailed at directly disputing a handler’s statement, but he continued. “He kept moving; I’m too slow to get it right.” He waited for the reaction to his behavior.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not photography; you’re not going to get your artistic license revoked if you have to draw someone’s chin from memory.” Ignis was smiling. _He’d disobeyed orders, been verbally insubordinate, and a handler was **smiling** at him!_

Ignis kept smiling, and Gladio laughed; the two looked at each other, sharing some understanding. 05953234’s eyes stung. He wanted to throw them, the notebook, and himself off the top of the rampart wall. He wanted to scream. His mouth opened involuntarily. 05953234 couldn’t continue provoking them. He couldn’t ask for more than this. Prompto couldn’t… ”What’s photo-graphy?” The two vampires turned to look toward him. He ducked his gaze to the table, but held his seat. He flinched when he felt a light touch of his shoulder.

Gladio withdrew his hand and held it a few inches from Prompto. He waited. Prompto finally gathered the courage to look up and Gladio smiled. “Why don’t I show you?”


	9. A new kind of shooting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto's world get a little richer.

05953234 had been an outlier among the otherwise identical clones in a few ways, but the only one his old handlers seemed to care about before the end was his aim. There had been talk about removing him to study for replication. He was pretty sure that would have gone badly so he adjusted to more closely match the others. Eventually it hadn’t been deemed significant enough, but in the end it hadn’t mattered. Prompto hadn’t had a chance to practice his aim since he was sacrificed, at least not with a rifle.

Prompto was enthralled by the camera on the phone they’d given him. After Ardyn and Noctis returned to find him playing with Gladio’s, Ardyn had sent Ignis down to the village to acquire one for him. He half paid attention to Ignis’s explanation of the device. Plenty of the handlers had them and the clones did need to know how to use a multi-frequency radio to receive orders. The process of pre-programing and selecting the person you wished to speak with was much more straight-forward than memorizing a frequency rotation, but had obvious security vulnerabilities. He acknowledged the order to always answer when one of the vampires called and not to if anyone else did.

The process of setting contact-photos was much more interesting.

He ended up taking dozens of pictures of each vampire before he could select four that he was happy with. The handlers back at the facility had used video to instruct and review the clones, but snatching a still image out of the flow of time seemed like a miracle to him. Ignis was scrolling through the results of his experimentation.

“These are marvelous, you’ve got an eye for composition.”

Prompto lips twitched up in anticipation as he said. “I use two eyes.” Ignis also curved his lips up into a smile. Prompto had discovered that he could get that response sometimes. He liked it and was trying to figure out the pattern to get it more often. Ignis handed the phone back to him. Prompto was starting to realize that he liked his new handlers. The contrast was unsettling, but pleasant. He knew clones weren’t supposed to have those kind of opinions, so he held the thought carefully and only examined it when he was alone.

“Hopefully we’ll have time to get you a real camera when we get to Altissia. The phone’s camera isn’t good enough for low-light conditions.” Prompto hummed. He wasn’t sure he could imagine anything better than the device in his hands, but he wasn’t going to question Ignis. He lifted the phone and snapped a picture of Ignis, trying to capture his expression and the lines in the stonework behind him. The way the rough spaces between the rocks seemed to gather together behind him…

Ignis smiled a little wider and Prompto took a second and a third shot, walking a little to the left. The vampire followed and wrapped an arm around Prompto’s shoulder. Prompto stifled his frustration as Ignis effectively put himself out of his ‘line of fire’. He turned the phone around and tried shooting blind. Ignis laughed and reached for the phone with his free hand. “Here, I think you’ll enjoy the ‘selfie’ feature.”


	10. Ride's Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot? _Whistles_ Here plot! C'me'er!
> 
> AKA The Penny Drops

Prompto heard the sounds of an airship landing in the courtyard when he awoke for the evening. He turned back the curtains and immediately took off to find one of the vampires when he took in the lurid civilian paint job.

“Ah, good evening, Prompto.” Ardyn swept up from behind him. Prompto squashed his irritation at being snuck up on again and fell in with him. “You heard our ride arrive?”

“Our?” he asked. It still felt dangerous, like not clearing the chamber before cleaning a gun, but so far none of the vampires had reprimanded him for questioning them.

“Well, not _ours_ , but my car could hardly get us to Accordo. We’ll have loan of it while we’re holding up our end of the covenant and the owner will enjoy the castle while we’re gone.”

“You’re paying me for the house-sitting too if you want me to stay in this heap.” A woman’s tart voice preceded its owner around the courtyard entrance as Ignis escorted her in. Prompto fell back and let Ardyn go ahead. Her wry smile belied her sharp tone as she approached Ardyn. Prompto knew she was a vampire, but not how he knew. She wrapped an arm around the taller vampire in a loose hug before carrying on into the keep.

Her steps faltered as she took in Prompto’s appearance, before she pressed forward. She stopped inches from him, staring into his face. “Ah, Arenea, don-”

What Ignis was going to tell Arenea to avoid was lost to Prompto as he felt another’s thoughts slip against his. His next awareness was of the futility of his panicked thrashing as solid bands pinned 05953234’s chest to a cool object. “Shhhh, shhhhhh.” A voice in his ear and silence in his mind. He realized the bands holding him were Ardyn’s arms. He calmed himself by inches and sagged into the hold. He looked up and stiffened when he realized the new handler was staring at him. Fuck, he used to be able to hide his reaction to the conditioning. Why was this happening? He’d finally fucked up enough and now...

“Sorry, Shortcake. That was my bad.” 05953234 shifted in Ardyn’s hold and the vampire relaxed his hold, but didn’t release him. A broad hand swept up and down his arm and he felt himself relax back against Ardyn, turning to tuck his head into the curve of his throat and watched the woman out of the corner of his eye. He felt the vibration through his temple as Ardyn spoke.

“We’re not quite sure what Niflheim is doing to their soldiers, but I suspect they’ve fallen far since your time in service, my dear.”

“Huh.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “I’ve heard rumors ‘bout the cloning program. Never did sit right with me.” Prompto blinked. It had never occurred to him that they might not know everything about the program. He shuddered at the thought of being actually questioned about it. Ardyn held him a little tighter and brought one hand up to stroke his hair. “Look, are you sure about this? I understand you always keep the current fledgling close, but you’re planning on taking a vampire who doesn’t know how to vampire into danger. I’ll take the boys to the trouble spot and help them out; you can stay here with Shortcake.”

“I’m afraid Ardyn’s presence is quite necessary under the terms of the agreement with Accordo.” Ignis did sound sorry. Prompto felt like the bottom was dropping out of his world as he processed what Aranea had said. He turned fully into Ardyn’s chest and brought his arms up to cling to the vampire. “Ardyn, why don’t you get Prompto somewhere quiet to recover and I’ll get Aranea settled?” Prompto felt Ardyn nod. Ignis and allowed his footsteps to be heard as he led Aranea further into the keep.

Prompto whined in his throat as he clung to Ardyn, his mind whirling in confusion. The vamp- the _other_ vampire swept him up into his arms and carried him back to his bedroom.


	11. Lounging and Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets a little lost in the weeds with vampire telepathy.

Prompto was curled up against Ardyn’s side with an arm around his shoulder after briefly feeding. The bed was wide enough for two, but he wanted to be close to his... he didn’t know. Not handler. He was fully clothed for the night; Ardyn had his shirt open. He pressed his forehead into Ardyn’s chest above the small mat of scars. Even if it _was_ safe to ask questions, he didn’t know what he wanted to know. Ardyn sighed and pushed the bangs off from Prompto’s forehead. Prompto felt the vibrations as Ardyn asked, “What did they do to you?” The question was probably rhetorical.

“Conditioning begins as neonate clones complete the first year of development.” Prompto whispered. The handlers had never cared if 05953234 or the other clones were within hearing range as they discussed the program. “Approximately fifty percent of neonates fail and are sent for eval and recyc. It used to be seventy percent.” Ardyn tightened the arm around Prompto slightly. “Physical training begins when the clones are removed from the neonate facilities and continues until field deployment.” Prompto squeezed his eyes shut.

“What did you know about vampires before you came here?” Ardyn ran the fingers of his free hand through Propmto’s hair and he opened his eyes. It was starting to get longer that the utilitarian haircut given to the clones every month. Prompto suspected it wasn’t growing as fast as it used to, but had never given his hair any consideration before. Feeling dangerously bold, he inched his hand up Ardyn’s chest to touch the vampire’s burgundy locks.

“Vampires are active at night, strong, fast, and dangerous.” He brought his hand back down to Ardyn’s chest. “They kill one clone a year and feed on blood.” Prompto looked up into golden eyes. “I’m stupid, aren’t I?” Ardyn’s brow wrinkled a bit as he frowned at that.

“I rather suspect the opposite.” He pulled Prompto a little higher on the bed and turned so they were sharing a pillow face to face. “I do not wish to cause you pain, but Aranea is right that you’ll be in danger. This ‘conditioning’, it's a form of mental impression, yes? That’s why you react so poorly to our telepathy.” Prompto drew his lower lip between his teeth before nodding. "I want to try something else. You have the gift to reach into _my_ mind, but not the knowledge. I'm afraid I've been unable to guide you the way I did the others, but it is a poor teacher who cannot adapt to the needs of his pupil."

Prompto searched Ardyn’s eyes, trying to understand. Ardyn took hold of both of Prompto’s hands. “Now, I’m going to reach out to you, but only shallowly, and I want you to follow the contact back to me. We’ll go as slow as you need.” Prompto braced himself and waited. Ardyn just watched him. Prompto realized Ardyn was waiting too and nodded.

He flinched as he felt Ardyn brush against his awareness. Ardyn squeezed his hands and he relaxed as the contact went no further. It was just a gentle touch on the surface of his thoughts; a sense of Ardyn’s mind, but no _instruction_. Prompto felt his hands start shaking as he pushed against the feeling; slowly, cautiously following it out of the safe center of his being. Then he pushed a little harder.

It felt like slipping at the top of the wall on the training course. Heart stopping. Prompto lost all feeling of his own body and crashed into his awareness of Ardyn. He floundered in strange memories.

 _Despair. The ceremony fails, the crystal shatters, a woman lies dead and his lifeblood soaks into the carpet of the opulent chamber_ (what ceremony, why was he dying.) _Trapped! Close walls and darkness. He pushes against the stone slab on top of him and somehow still has breathe to scream. Out! He’s stumbling through the crypt, is he drunk?_ (where is he) _There, the door! Escape! His hand in sunlight, **burning!** _(i want out) _Retreating into darkness. Pray. Daemons. Desperation. Prey._ I want out. _The gods, speaking, begging. Brother? The gods plans in ruin, a different way to hold back the dark?_ **Let me out!**

Prompto tore his hands away from Ardyn and flung himself from the bed. He crouched on the cold wooden floor and took shuddering breaths. He ran his fingers up and down the grain of the wood. Iggy had told him it was an overlay and the stone floors were still below it. Ardyn came around the bed and knelt beside him. Prompto took some consolation that the other vampire seemed upset. Ardyn wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pressed a cold kiss against his temple.

“I’m so proud of you.” The elder vampire whispered against his hair. Prompto rose out of his grip and walked to the door.

He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Thank you.” Prompto left. He wanted to wander the keep for a while before the night’s meal with the others. He had a lot to think about.


	12. Riddles in the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aranea apologizes to Prompto.

Dinner was a quiet, awkward affair. The little talk that there was centered around how Aranea had missed Ignis’s cooking and various places she had been. She was apparently working as a mercenary of some kind with a few humans. Prompto had dozens of questions by the time his plate was clear.

Prompto hadn’t expected Aranea to follow him out of the dining room as they dispersed afterward, but she did. "Hey, Prompto, right? I wanted to say sorry again for earlier. No hard feelings?"

Prompto regarded the woman with puzzlement. What did it matter? “No hard feelings.” He managed.

“Great.” Prompto wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or if her voice just sounded like that. “C’mon, I haven’t visited the keep in years, wanna check out my favorite spots with me?” She strode off down the hall before he could answer. He hurried to catch up, and since he was already following he decided his answer was yes.

Aranea lead him through a door and down some stairs into the lower levels of the keep. Prompto hadn’t been down this far before. “What is this?” he asked as mortared stone steps and walls gave way to cut bedrock. He touched a chisel mark on the wall. There were regularly placed sconces, not electric lights, but not even a vague hint of smoke. It might have been centuries since someone had come down here who needed light.

“As far as we can tell, the keep was built over other, older fortifications. Ardyn wasn't the first one to live up here, but by now the locals think he was." Aranea pulled open a door set into the wall. Prompto heard distant running water down the revealed corridor. "These caves were good for storage after someone widened the entrance and it's a bit of a hike, but the river back there could provide water during a siege. Or means of escape, if you can hold your breath as long as a vampire." Prompto blinked as he turned the statement over and around in his mind.

Aranea shut the door and continued down the way. The walls became rougher as they came to another carved staircase. "Careful, Shortcake, it's a nasty fall if you slip."

The steps were narrow and slightly damp. The work of long forgotten people showed where the rock was pitted with tool marks that hadn’t been worn smooth. Prompto trailed his fingers along the wall as he followed Aranea down. They reached an open area at the bottom where the natural cave opened up. Aranea brought her phone out of her pocket. "Cover your eyes for a second, yeah?"

Despite the warning, Prompto was still caught off guard by the explosion of light. He took a moment to blink the stars and tears out of his eyes before asking, "What's that for?"

"Oh, quit whining and look up." Obediently, Prompto raised his eyes and was stunned into silence.

Illuminated with the dim light of the phone’s screen the ceiling sparkled with opalescent beauty. The light seemed to dance with the light as small movements of the phone caused it to cascade between all the reflections, shadows, and translucency. Unthinking, Prompto pulled out his own phone and thumbed open the camera app. "I wouldn't bother, you need special equipment for this kind of thing." Aranea cut through his revery.

"They were talking about finding me a 'real' camera in Altissia." Prompto regarded the walls of the cave. They weren't as dramatic as the ceiling. "Do they even know this is here?"

"The caves? Yeah, but I don't think they ever bothered to bring a light down here." Prompto forced himself not to react to her tone. Her smile seemed kind, unlike the handlers back at the facility. "Our gifts aren't perfect. Sometimes you need to check yourself."

"Like earlier?" Prompto carefully prodded.

Aranea laughed. "Hey! You said no hard feelings." She strode to the far side of the cave. "C'mon, brat. If you're nice I'll show you my favourite part."

Prompto hustled to catch up. He wasn't sure he believed anything could be better, but didn't want to miss anything. Aranea lead him through a low arch and up a short incline. The roof of the cave crowded close, but Prompto was used to swallowing down his discomfort.

"Here." Aranea crouched down by something dark on the wall. She turned her phone to illuminate it. "Careful, Shortcake, I'm pretty sure this is the oldest human mark left in the caves."

Prompto peered at the dark squiggles and tried to parse them. They didn't look like words. Drawings? Those could be human figures. "What is it?"

"Dunno for sure, but if I had to guess based on what I know of humanity I'd say these outside parts were names and the inner part is what esteemed archeologists would call a fertility symbol; the prudes." Prompto frowned in puzzlement. He'd ask Ignis later.

Aranea tapped a button on her phone, and darkness swept around them. The ends of the tunnel came into focus with the loss of the pool of light. Prompto looked at the drawing; even though it seemed like he could see perfectly in the dark cave he could barely make out the lines. Interesting. Aranea sat back on the cold, damp stone and looked at Prompto expectantly when he turned toward the motion. She patted the floor next to her and he sat. “So, any questions?”

Prompto looked at his hands. At the mark on his wrist. Despite how close they were, Aranea was the first Nifleheimer he’d seen since his old handlers had tossed him into the vampire’s care. He was starting to realize the gaping expanse of what he didn’t know; about the world, about vampires, about himself. Despite that, there was one thing pressing above all else. “Why are we going to Altissia?” Aranea blinked in the darkness. Then, grumbling and cursing, led him back up to the keep to find Ardyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one fought me a bit. While I do think there should be more stories just about cuddling in bed and looking at beautiful things in darkness, I am preparing to deploy the plot soon. *fingers crossed*


End file.
